Vibration dampers are common on bows for both competition and hunting. There are generally two types of bows, recurve bows and compound bows, where it is common to mount vibration dampers. The vibration damper is used to dampen vibrations and recoil that occurs in the bow when the arrow is fired. Most common is vibration dampers of rubber in combination with a homogeneous metal weight. It is common to attach a weight in the outer end of the stabilizer with the rubber damper between the homogeneous weight and the stabilizer. The other end of the stabilizer is attached to the bows center portion called the riser. The stabilizer is a spacer element, usually made of light weight rigid material that you put between the bow riser and the weight to distance the weight from the bow and provide a greater moment of inertia that prevents the rotary and flexing movement of the bow during the aiming and shots. The vibration damper can also be mounted directly to the bow riser.
On recurve bows there are limb vibrations from the outer ends of the bow where the string is attached. Vibration dampers on the stabilizer reduce vibrations in the limbs. Vibration dampers of rubber in combination with a solid metal weight are usually quite rigid and are poor absorbers of low frequency vibrations in the limbs. If you choose a soft rubber damper in combination with a solid metal weight on the end of the stabilizer the weight will move because of the small tremors that occurs during aiming. If the weight moves during aiming it results in poor stability.
There are also examples of vibration dampers comprising a chamber that is filled with mercury or other liquids, possibly in combination with metal bodies. A vibration damper partially filled with a liquid such as mercury does not give stability during aiming when the liquid moves during aiming. A vibration absorber consisting of a metal body surrounded by a fluid or oil in a housing is also not good at damping low frequency vibrations, for example in a recurve bow limbs.